Lord of the Flies
Summary
One fact about this book should be established from the start - this is not a children's book. The "littluns" and "bigguns" represent members of the human race. The conflict between law and barbarism would have, I believe to be the same had the island been inhabited with adult survivors instead of children.
The novel is about a transition from an immensely exciting adventure of some children, to what eventually becomes full-scale war, ending with the arrival of the naval officer who rescued them. Tough I still wonder if they were really saved, considering the atomic war which, at that time was still raging around the globe.
The book begins by introducing the two of the characters - Ralph and Piggy. Ralph finds a conch (a shell shaped in such a way that when blown it will sound) and blows it, summoning the rest of the boys, who were on the aeroplane and survived the crash. Last to arrive are the choir, who are described as a "black catterpillar moving along the beach."
On closer examination is is found that there is a wide variance in the age of the boys, from about 6 to 12 years of age. From here on in the book the younger boys are simply referred to as the "littluns" and the older boys as "bigguns" although the younger children are referred to more collectively in the story. Ralph is elected chief of the group and his first action is for Jack, Simon and himself to go on a scout to check if the island is really and island or is attached to anything else, they find that it is an island and return to the rest of the boys.
It is decided at the meeting held by Ralph that people should only be allowed to speak at meetings if they have possession of the conch, thus giving the conch a special power to the boys. It is also decided that the choir should become hunters for food, with Jack (the choir leader) in charge of them. Above all this though is the importance of a fire being lit and staying alight night and day for a ship to see and hopefully rescue them.
At this point a small boy comes forward and tells the boys that he saw a monster which he calls a "beastie" in the woods.
As the boys settle into life on the island, factions develop. The smaller boys are now known by the generic title of "littluns," including Percival, the smallest boy on the island, who had previously stayed in a small shelter for two days and had only recently emerged, red-eyed and miserable. The littluns spend most of the day searching for fruit to eat, and since they choose it indiscriminately they suffer from chronic diarrhea. They cry for their mothers less often than expected, and they spend time with the older boys only during Ralph's assemblies. The littluns occupy themselves
The story begins when a group of boys are plane wrecked on an island. There is no other land to be seen. Firstly it begins with two characters which are Piggy and Ralph. They call for others to search
There is evidence throughout the book that there is a war going on but the most prevalent one is when the boys are sleeping and there is a plane explosion in the sky that brings down a man in a parachute. The story most likely takes place somewhere in the late 1940’s to the 1950’s. A person can guess the amount of time on the Island by the physical appearance of the boys because the author, William Golding, does not specify an exact amount of time. All the author gives us to indicate the time spent on the Island is that the boys’ hair has grown rather long and their clothes are almost completely destroyed. The young boys, or littluns, have the appearance of malnutrition which suggests that the young boys have not been eating the proper food that they should been for quite some time. With this information a person could conclude that they have perhaps been on the Island for a year or just a little over a
Upon arrival to the island the two main character's Piggy and Ralph find a conch shell, which they believe could help them find the other boys. Ralph was the appointed leader for the boys. Jack one of the other boys that is stranded on the island was appointed the job of finding food for everyone to eat.
The ship is a good sign but they do not manage to flag it down, because Jack had not looked after the fire. This springs an almost air of hatred between Ralph and Jack.Law and order, plays a big role in the story. It comes into play at the very beginning with the conch. Ralph and Piggy find the shell and Ralph blows it, this draws all the children onto the beech. The conch later becomes an element of law and order, because the boys are only aloud to talk during meetings if they have the conch. Fear, fear is probably the biggest theme in the story there is a big list of elements of fear such as the fear of the beast, the isolation of the island, the war outside of the island, the fear of not being rescued, the fear of Jacks group (savages) and the fear of fear itself.
From the time that the boys land on the island, both a power struggle and the first signs of the boys' inherent evil, Piggy's mockery, occur. After blowing the conch and summoning all the boys to come for an assembly, an election is held. "I ought to be chief , said Jack with simple arrogance, because I'm chapter chorister and head boy"(Golding 22). After Ralph is elected Chief, Jack envies his position and constantly struggles for power with Ralph throughout the rest of the novel, convincing the rest of the boys to join his tribe rather than to stay with Ralph. Also, soon after the boys arrive at the island, Piggy, a physically weak and vulnerable character, is mocked and jeered at by the other boys. After trying to recount all of the liluns' names, Piggy is told to "Shut up, Fatty," by Jack Merridew. Ralph remarks by saying, "He's not Fatty. His real name's Piggy." All of the boys on the island, except for Piggy, laugh and make themselves more comfortable at Piggy's expense. "A storm of laughter arose and even the tiniest child joined in. For a moment the boys were a closed circuit of sympathy with Piggy outside."(Golding 21). The boys instinctively become more comfortable with one another after Piggy's mockery and create a bond, leaving Piggy on the outside.
Many kids have crashed the plane into a stranded island. The main boys of the story are Ralph who is chief or captain, Jack who is a bully, piggy who is smart, and last but not least simon. Along the way they were not the only ones... they had the littleluns.
It is in these games were the boys get carried away and Ralph feels a
On their way to an all boys' school during World War Two, the boy's plane crashed on to an uninhabited tropical island. The boys end up all alone on the island without any adults. Ralph and Piggy, two of the main characters, find how to use a conch they find on the beach as a horn to call the first meeting on the island. This conch ends up being the symbol of order and civilization, and is also used for calling meetings and holding it would give boy holding it the right to speak. Everyone decides that the would be civilized and make rules, keep a signal fire going and have a chief that will call meetings and lead the group of boys. Ralph and Jack, another main character in the book, and the leader of the choir group, are in an election to see who will become chief and Ralph wins. This upsets Jack, but he agrees to have his choir maintain the signal fire, using Piggy spectacles to start the fire. To be sure that they were on an island Ralph and jack go out on an expedition. During their expedition they don't only find out that they are actually on an island but there are pigs on the island as well. At one end of the island there is a big rock/mountain that they decide the will maintain their signal fire on. Jack then finds his new hobby of hunting pigs.
The first two boys to meet each other were Ralph and another boy who although he protested, reluctantly accepted the nickname “Piggy”. The boys romped around, having fun swimming and running around until they chanced upon a conch. Piggy suggested to Ralph that he blow the conch to call the others. Ralph figured out how to blow the conch and proceeded to call the others. Slowly but surely, all the remaining survivors started trickling in to the cove where Ralph and Piggy had found the conch. Ralph proposed that they vote for a chief, and the all the boys except for the choir, voted for Ralph. Ralph’s first matter of business is to go on a hunt to make sure that this really is an island. He takes Jack and another boy, Simon and goes to the highest point on the island to scout out their newfound home. The trio confirms their theory that this is an island and they are indeed the sole inhabitants.
As former members of society and civilization, the surviving boys attempt to replicate the social values taught to them. Ralph is elected the leader of the group to the dismay of Jack, the leader of a boy’s choir, who becomes jealous of Ralph 's power. At first, everything seems well; shelters are made, the little ones are fed, and the optimism for escape is held high. However, as time goes on, the fear of the unknown begins to catch up to the survivors, and the thoughts of rescue are replaced with savagery and the thirst for hunting. Ralph and his intellectual but physically unfit assistant, Piggy, have to stand their ground in order to prevent Jack, his “hunters”, and the fear of the mysterious “beast” from collapsing the foundation of society and civilization that the survivors had worked so hard to
Ralph answers and says that there is no “Beastie” they little boy must had a nightmare. Jack grabs the conch and states that, he and his hunters will make sure there is no “snake-thing” he said they will look for it when hunting for the pigs. Ralph grabs the conch and says again there is no beast and gets annoyed. He tells the boys they want to have fun but at the same time get rescued, he’s says they might get rescued by his father's ship possibly since he’s in the navy.Ralph says they should start a signal fire on top of the mountain in order to get rescued. The boys started following Jack, Ralph and Piggy were left alone , Ralph still holds the conch and tries to call the boys back but they don't listen to him.Ralph follows the other boys and Piggy was left alone with the conch. Piggy is disappointed with Ralph and the boys for acting like a bunch of kids. The rest boys are on top of the mountain gating logs and sticks into a pile to start the fire. Jack and Ralph found themselves in a situation they don't know how to light a fire. Jack grabs Piggy’s glasses off his face and they started the fire. The fire grows and more wood was added and they dance around then get tired and it goes mostly
At this first assembly it is very evident that there is two different age groups, the littluns and the older children. This is the very first mention of “the beast” a small boy known as the scar faced boy, he mentions the beast and says that he has seen it in this next quote, “He says the beastie cam in the dark,”(36). At first most of the older boys don’t believe him, but over time they develop a fear of something that they don’t even know is real. In this instance the older boys are very sure that they are very much above the younger boys and that this is a very silly thing and that they aren’t thinking as logically as the older boys, or how the older boys think they are. At a different point in the book, closer to the end, Jack decides that he doesn’t want to have Ralph as a leader so he goes and makes his own tribe. Within this tribe there is the group of hunters that provide all of the meat that they had had on the island. All of the younger boys are very set on staying with Ralph and Piggy at first, until the night of the bonfire. On the night of the bonfire the boys are eating meat, not the usual
The boys’ beginning on the island starts with a very positive and playful atmosphere. To begin, Ralph and Piggy find a conch shell that they think will help call the others to bring them together and keep them safe before they get lost and hurt. Piggy says, “We can use this to call the others. Have a meeting. They’ll come when they hear us” (Golding 12). Once they all gather together in their first group meeting, they start to feel safe and relieved that no one is hurt and they are together as a whole. They will always stay together while they hunt and play. Next, the boys come to a conclusion that they have to build some sort of signal fire to help indicate that they are on the island and get everyone off it so they do not eventually die there. They work together as a group to get it done by some little boys going to get some dead wood. The rest help to build the fire up high to get enough smoke to eventually signal a nearby ship. Jack has the idea to start the fire and uses Piggy’s glasses against the light to spark a flame. As it lights, the boys excitedly run to get more fire wood as the hope of rescue lurks the air around them. No fights happen as they...
From the very beginning it can be seen that the boys have already begun to divide into two groups. When Ralph calls the first meeting the boys have together by summoning them with a conch shell, he decides they should vote on a leader. A boy named Jack Merridew thinks that he should be the chief because he is "chapter chorister and head boy." (22) Another boy nominates Ralph for leader, because he is the one that called for the meeting. When it comes time to vote, the choir members vote for Jack, while all the other boys vote for Ralph. After he is elected leader, Ralph tells Jack that he is in charge of his choir. Jack tells Ralph that they will be the hunters, and Ralph agrees. This causes the boys to be divided into one group led by Ralph, and the hunting group made up of the choir members, led by Jack Merridew.